The Oregon State Yank was edited and published by Oregon State College alumnae, Elaine Kollins Sewell and Jane Steagall, to share news of service activities of alumni serving in World War II and provide campus news to alumni. Most of the news in the publication was drawn from correspondence received by the editors from training camps in the U.S. and fighting fronts around the world. The initial Yank was published in November 1943. Seven subsequent issues were published from May 1944 through November 1945. All issues are available online in the Oregon State Yank set in Oregon Digital.
The November 1943 issue was only 4 pages and intended as a one-time publication.
The May 1944 issue announced that the Yank had become a quarterly paper. It expanded to 8 pages and included columns and articles by Jean Floyd Henniger, Marion Kierzek, Jeanne Hartman Popovich, Elaine Roberts Ramsdell, and Penny Bronner Robinson. The August 1944 edition included a column by John C. Burtner, "Observations from the Campus". Fred Shideler assumed responsibility for the campus news column under a new title, "From the OSC Front Lines" with the November 1944 issue. The Yank grew to 16 pages with this issue, which also included greetings from Oregon State College (OSC) President A.L. Strand and former OSC President George W. Peavy.
The February 1945 issue included a front-page article by Fred M. Shideler describing how OSC would assist returning veterans. The May 1945 Yank described the Yank Weekend which was held in lieu of Homecoming in February. The August 1945 issue celebrated victory in Europe and was dedicated to Oregon State Yanks in the Pacific.
The farewell issue of the Yank was published in November 1945 as a Christmas-Victory issue with information about post-war services available at Oregon State for returning veterans and a "Roll of Honor" listing the 234 Oregon State alumni who were killed during World War II.
